#63: Employee #30 at Facebook to Founder of AppSumo: Noah Kagan's Journey
Jan 2, 2024
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Noah Kagan, Founder and CEO of AppSumo, shares his journey from being an employee at Facebook to starting a nine-figure business. He discusses his early career and starting AppSumo to capitalize on opportunities in the Facebook platform and iPhone app markets. Kagan shares his philosophy on work, including his belief that everyone should aim to become an entrepreneur. He also talks about overcoming the two biggest fears holding most people back - starting and asking. Listeners will gain valuable insights on entrepreneurship and building a successful business.
Experiments and learning from failures are crucial in entrepreneurship, along with seeking guidance from elite advisors.
People should strive to find work aligned with their passions and values, and overcome challenges for personal growth.
The power of asking is highlighted, encouraging individuals to practice asking for small things to build confidence in asking for bigger opportunities.
Deep dives
Discovering Opportunities and Building Empires
Noah Kagan, the founder of AppSumo, shares his journey as an entrepreneur. He discusses how he started with various experiments and had multiple failures before finding success. Noah emphasizes the importance of finding a market with potential for growth and focusing on creating something that people truly need. He also highlights the value of starting now and not getting caught up in the details of how things will work. Noah's story inspires listeners to pursue their passion and take risks to achieve success.
The Power of Experiments and Advisors
Noah Kagan emphasizes the importance of doing experiments in entrepreneurship and learning from them. He shares how he was able to land jobs at Facebook and Mint.com by showcasing his ideas and bringing mockups to his interviews. Noah also discusses the value of having elite advisors who can provide guidance and wisdom. He encourages listeners to seek the help of advisors who have expertise in areas they want to grow in. Learning from advisors and conducting experiments are key elements in Noah's entrepreneurial journey.
The Journey to Riches and Personal Fulfillment
Noah Kagan shares his perspective on wealth and personal fulfillment. He discusses the benefits of becoming rich, including the freedom to make choices and have a positive impact on the world. Noah emphasizes the importance of finding work that aligns with one's passions and values. He also highlights the satisfaction that comes from overcoming challenges and striving for personal growth. Noah encourages listeners to pursue their dreams and find what they would choose to work on even if they had all the wealth in the world.
The Power of Asking and the Coffee Challenge
The podcast episode discusses the power of asking for what you want and introduces the concept of the coffee challenge. The coffee challenge encourages individuals to ask for a 10% discount when purchasing their next cup of coffee or any other transaction. By practicing the coffee challenge, people develop the confidence to ask for other things, such as raises or new business opportunities. The podcast emphasizes that the worst that can happen when asking is receiving a 'no,' and highlights how practicing asking on low-stakes situations can lead to higher rewards in more significant endeavors.
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone by Asking and Taking Action
The podcast episode explores the idea of consistently getting out of your comfort zone by asking for opportunities and taking action. It acknowledges that fear and discomfort are common when asking for things, but highlights that the fear should not prevent people from asking. Successful salespeople and entrepreneurs know that the worst-case scenario is already in place if they don't ask. The podcast suggests that dumb people often succeed because they simply apply correct principles and don't overthink. It's emphasized that anyone can get rich by consistently doing the right things, overcoming fears, and using the power of asking to their advantage.
In this episode of The Founder Podcast, host Chris Lee interviews Noah Kagan, the founder and CEO of AppSumo. Kagan shares the story of how he built AppSumo from a side project launched in 2010 to a company now doing nine figures in annual revenue.
Kagan discusses his early career working at companies like Facebook and what he learned from being fired from both roles. He talks about starting AppSumo as a way to capitalize on opportunities in the Facebook platform and iPhone app markets. Kagan also shares tactics like using elite advisors to accelerate his learning.
Listeners will learn about Kagan's philosophy on work, including his belief that everyone should aim to become an entrepreneur. He discusses principles like getting started now rather than worrying about how something will work. Kagan also talks about overcoming the two biggest fears holding most people back - starting and asking.
The episode provides valuable insights for entrepreneurs, including Kagan's view that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary success through consistent application of the right principles. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at Kagan's journey to build AppSumo into a nine-figure business through relentless experimentation and getting outside his comfort zone.
Highlights:
"Most innovation does not come from experts."
"I would argue that everyone wants to be rich and have the ability to be rich."
"What do you wanna work on for free? And how do you make that your career."
Timestamps:
00:00: Introduction
04:35: Mark Zuckerberg's Leadership
11:23: Time Managment
18:50: Overcoming Fear
24:56: Asking For Sucess
29:24: Consitent Effort
38:12: Your Purpose
48:48: Mindset
55:00: Personal Growth
Live Links:
🚀 Join my community - Founder Acceleration
https://www.founderacceleration.com
🤯 Apply for our next Mastermind
https://www.thefoundermastermind.com
⛳️ Golf with Chris
https://www.golfwithchris.com
🎤 Watch my latest Podcast
Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-founder-podcast/id1687030281
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1e0cL2vI1JAtQrojSOA7D2?si=dc252f8540ee4b05
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@thefounderspodcast
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